The ever-iconic Friends starts with a wedding dress, so how can we not talk about the evolution of wedding dresses in the series. Rachel’s wedding dress which in a way kicks off the series and the myriad wedding dresses that have been portrayed in the series are worthy of an analysis since the series spanned over 10 years. Which better way to understand the wedding trends of a decade!
First and foremost, Rachel’s wedding dress. Being a spoilt girl who gets to have everything in her life, she really must have had a fairy tale kind of wedding in her mind. Hence she had a quite larger than normal silver tiara, a long train and a tulle gown. The dress came from Warner bros costume depot, hand selected by the Debra Macguire herself.
But when it comes to phoebe, she raised herself and doesn’t believe in anything that is luxurious. For her wedding, all she wanted was to feel pretty. Monica, being the wedding planner was so perfectionate that she knew exactly what Phoebe would like. For her white meant nothing and she simply did not choose it for her wedding even when it was the standard colour. We can see the dawn of brides experimenting with various colours for wedding dresses ever since this episode.
Monica, on the other hand is the perfectionist. She wanted everything on point for her wedding and she makes sure it is. She even fights for a wedding dress which was on sale. However, when they aired the episode of Monica’s wedding it was during the late half of the decade. The whole new trend of minimalism started with Monica’s dress which was plain yet elegant.
The lesbian wedding
Friends travelled way early than its time because it portrayed a lesbian wedding as natural as it could be. They broke the gender stereotypes embedded in the bride wearing white to symbolise the patriarchal construct of virginity. Instead the couples chose normal dresses, which they thought were perfect for them.
How can we not end this session with not even mentioning the iconic bridesmaid dresses? The pink tulle bridesmaid dress of Rachel caused a huge rush in tulle bridesmaid dressing. It was so horrible according to the designer, but the ever-beautiful Jennifer Aniston made it look so pretty. This dress played an important role in the story, as it was the wedding of her ex-fiancé, and on the day they were supposed to be married, Rachel runs away in the realisation that she is not in love. This time, the dress was intended to be funny to set the mood and it is amidst this hilarious outfit, her butt showing, and her parents saying the reason why Rachel dumped Barry was syphilis that she regains agency as a woman. When everyone including Barry betted on her to leave by 9, she stayed and declared that she had promised herself that she’ll make it though at least one of his weddings.
By Sethulakshmi S (1733162)
Friends & Fashion 